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PESA VIC/TAS Branch welcome a new President

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Above image: The last time that Nick was in Tasmania (2017). Caution, some changes may have occurred since then!

After 10 years of sterling service, Tim O’Brien is stepping down from the branch presidency and Nick Hoffman is taking up the role. We would like to thank Tim for his dedication to the role through thick and thin, whilst also toiling hard against the Victorian government bureaucracy over onshore gas. Perhaps the tide is finally turning there as gas shortages creep ever closer to the east coast energy market?

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PESA WA Core workshop in collaboration with CCUSNA

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Summary by Dr Fiona Burns

On  Tuesday 10th June, DEMIRES (in collaboration with PESA WA and  CCUSNA) organised a core workshop entitled  “Perth Basin from a CCS Perspective” which was  presented by Julie Cass and Dr Arthur Mory. We spent a day at the Perth Core Library considering how our collection of cores helps us to understand CCS targets in the Perth Basin. We also delved into the importance of characterising seals, the influence of reservoir heterogeneity vs homogeneity and how diagenesis impacts pore geometry.

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WA hold joint talk with SPE on CCS topics

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Summary by Dr Fiona Burns

On Thursday evening, 15th May PESA and SPE held a joint evening event at the ParmeliaHotel. The key focus of the presentations were projects and insights from across Australiaon the topic of CCS, with three separate speakers invited.

Robert Root’s talk (Chevron Australia) was entitled “Gorgon Carbon Capture and Storage –Insights and Lessons Learned”. Rob provided a highly informative overview of Gorgon CCSincluding performance to date, system optimization, and key lessons for other CCS projects.

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Carbon Loop #010 – CCUSNA newsletter

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https://carbonloop.substack.com/?utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web

Hello and welcome to The Carbon Loop — a newsletter by the CCUSNA dedicated to highlighting the Australian carbon capture, utilisation and storage industry

U.S. DOE Pulls Plug on $3.6 Billion in Clean Energy Grants

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has axed 24 federally funded clean energy projects worth over $3.6 billion. Most were industrial decarb, hydrogen, or CCS-related, and many hadn’t hit milestones or “advanced energy needs,” according to the DOE.

“We will not continue to fund projects that aren’t meeting basic milestones.” – Chris Wright

The cutbacks follow a months-long review of Infrastructure Law funding.

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Australian Natural Hydrogen Conference 2025

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It’s a crucial year for the potential commercialisation of natural hydrogen, and the second Australian Natural Hydrogen Conference October 21-23 in the Adelaide Hills promises to shed new light on this emerging energy source.

With a handful of companies worldwide having confirmed high levels of natural hydrogen in the ground, all are now racing to prove they can commercialise the zero-carbon resource, and the conference, put on by the Natural Hydrogen Association of Australia, has some of the industry’s heavyweights fronting attendees.

One of the biggest finds so far has been by French geologists in the Lorraine region and Jacques Pironon, founder of GeoRessources Research Laboratory, has signed up as a keynote speaker to help explain what they have found.

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PESA Queensland Welcomes New Branch Executive

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In June, PESA Queensland held their AGM and welcomed a new executive to lead the branch committee.  

Sue Slater – President

Sue takes on the role of President for the second time, having previously served in the role from 2009-2014. A familiar face to those in Queensland, she has been involved with the branch committee since 2007, organising the technical event program and the annual Symposium through this time. Sue was awarded the PESA Distinguished Member award in 2017 and the Exceptional Woman in Exploration in Qld Resources award in 2019.

Sue knew she wanted to be a geologist at a young age, and studied geology at University of Queensland achieving an MSc qualification.

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Do Australian regulations support net zero goals?

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One of Australia’s biggest energy challenges is building sufficient long duration energy storage (LDES) to meet market needs for dispatchable power, while also supporting net zero goals.

This challenge will become more urgent as Australia’s coal-fired power stations approach their end of life and close.

But do Australian regulations support the cost-effective clean energy solutions available?

How compressed air can ensure clean, reliable energy

Denison Gas is at the forefront of tackling the LDES challenge by progressing a first of its kind project to repurpose a depleted gas field into compressed air energy storage (CAES) facility.

The renewable energy project is designed to leverage existing infrastructure, unique geology within the Bowen Basin and Central Queensland’s abundant sun to deliver a 600 MW, 12-hour CAES facility.

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Core Storage is at Capacity at the Exploration Data Centre in Zillmere, your Support is Needed!

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The Exploration Data Centre (EDC) in Zillmere, QLD is a cornerstone of Queensland's geoscientific infrastructure, preserving and providing access to an extensive collection of geological core samples and drill cuttings. These samples are fundamental to research, mineral and energy exploration, and long-term resource planning for the state. However, the facility is currently at or near full capacity, significantly limiting the ability to archive new sedimentary cores from exploration, appraisal and development programs.

At the Australian Energy Producers (AEP) Conference held in Brisbane from May 26–29, 2025, significant discussions centred on Queensland's oil and gas investment outlook.

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Unlocking Subsurface Insights: The Power of Spectral Decomposition in Geoscience

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Spectral decomposition is a method that transforms seismic data into the frequency domain, revealing geological features that may not be visible in conventional seismic interpretation. This technique is widely used in hydrocarbon exploration, reservoir characterization, and geohazard identification.

It enhances thin bed detection, allowing geoscientists to resolve thin reservoirs and stratigraphic layers beyond conventional seismic resolution. The method can also serve as a direct hydrocarbon indicator, detecting frequency anomalies associated with hydrocarbons. Lastly, it supports lithology and facies mapping by differentiating rock types based on their spectral response, making it a valuable tool in subsurface exploration and reservoir studies.

The Mixer in Petrel allows users to compare and evaluate multiple seismic frequency volumes simultaneously using RGB/CMY blending.

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